The Snow Ridge Blog

Snow Ridge: Full Send Plateau

Posted on by Robert

This past weekend may well have been the best of the season in the east. A storm that dropped 8-12 inches across most of the region, favored Stowe, Whiteface and Snow Ridge on Tug Hill with significantly more than that. Evan and I had the same thought: first chair at Snow Ridge on Saturday.

Friday, I took the afternoon off to ski McCauley, a taste of what was to come. After close that day, the lake effect band settled over Turin NY. Overnight another 6-8 inches fell, bringing the storm total for Snow Ridge to 29 inches.

One thing I was pretty sure of, it would be more work for us to grab first chair at Stowe or Whiteface on Saturday. At Snow Ridge it’s pretty easy. We arrived 45 minutes before opening, and parked next to the three other cars that were there.

Evan

Continue reading →

Tagged: Lake Effect, Powder, Snow Ridge, Tug Hill14 Comments

Turin NY: Report from the Ridge

Posted on by Robert

I’m optimistic that this winter’s rain is behind us. The turning point was 5pm last Saturday in Turin NY, when it turned to heavy wet snow at Snow Ridge. I know this because I checked the webcam repeatedly, willing it to be so, willing it to be snow.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one watching. Blue and his brother Stefan called me right after the changeover. We made plans to meet up for first chair the next day.

It was a sleepy Sunday morning at the Ridge when I pulled in at 8:30. There were about 4 other cars in the parking lot and a similar number of people occupied the lodge. Blue and Stefan weren’t far behind me. By the time we were ready, the Ridge Runner was spinning.

Continue reading →

Tagged: Snow Ridge, Tug Hill4 Comments

Snow Ridge: No Bad Days

Posted on by Robert

Last week seems so long ago. It was -10 degrees and across the Northeast snow was falling. In the Tug Hill region of New York, some places got more than 3 feet of lake effect.

I’ve had more powder days at Snow Ridge than any other mountain. When I saw they were running the Snow Pocket lift for the first time this year, I knew we were in for a good time. For his birthday, I bought my friend Alex a lift ticket, and a little bit of Snow Ridge magic.

Much of the drive from Utica to Turin is through the farmland and forest. It’s a sure sign you are getting close when the walls of snow along the road grows taller than your vehicle. The sun was peeking through the clouds as we parked.

Continue reading →

Tagged: Lake Effect, Snow Ridge, Tug Hill11 Comments